Last week I explained the characteristics of money. A stable money or currency is important for economic growth, and yes this even applies to MMORPGs. If money is unstable, as in if inflation causes the purchasing power of money to fall then people are less likely to hold onto it.

Unfortunately, most MMORPGs are confronted with an ever increasing rate of inflation. A high inflation rate causes players to value money less, which in turn may cause them to spend it. In most Themepark MMOs however, there are not many places where a player can spend his hard earned money.

Really, after paying for your mount, constant repairs, taxis, and taxes, a player has little need to spend his money. Things such as quality of life improvements (increased mount speed) or additional mounts are all optional. Especially when one considers the lack of a real player made economy. In this case, players are forced to hold onto their money, but the money itself still doesn't have any real value. One of the characteristics of money is the medium of exchange. But in MMORPGs the exchange process is often limited. Many of the core goods, such as armor, weapons, potions, materials, are items that are easily provided by the game. Which means players have no need to use money to acquire a majority of their items and as a result they have nothing to do but to hold onto their money.